Dear sisters and brothers,
The Advent season is pretty short this year (because the 4th Sunday of Advent is also Christmas Eve), which means that we are already halfway through!
This past Sunday we proclaimed the Advent good news that Jesus is coming to save us, but this word of comfort draws into the discomfort of the wilderness and calls us to clear a path for salvation in our lives and in our world, removing the obstacles and distractions that keep us from the flourishing God desires for us.
I heard from a few people this week about the wilderness they feel called into right now: keeping watch and praying for those undergoing surgery, bearing witness to the suffering in Gaza, going back to therapy, relinquishing personal desires to serve a partner, taking time for silence and solitude in a busy season, getting out of bed to face yet another day of chronic pain.
The salvation we long for always begins in and goes through the wilderness. What wilderness are you embracing today as you wait for salvation? May you find grace to enter the wilderness, and know the comfort of God speaking tenderly to you in the desert as you wait for the renewal of all things.
Grace and peace,
Fr. Ben
